


I Can See Us There

by Kasena



Series: Game On [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Break Up, Getting Together, Minor Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Multi, Post-War, Pre-Relationship, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21852730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasena/pseuds/Kasena
Summary: Harry and Draco almost had something. But that's the keyword there, isn't it? Almost. So, they go through their young adult lives without one another. Because they never really had something. So why do they care so much about what the other is doing, if there was nothing to lose?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: Game On [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1545865
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39
Collections: Drarropoly 2.0 - A Drarry Game/Fest





	I Can See Us There

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** Song Inspo: Split Stones by Maggie Rogers. Minimum: 550 words - Maximum: 850 words.  
>  **House Level:** Choose either ~~1) During the war~~ -OR- **2) Post-War.** Maximum: 1850 words.  
>  **Hotel Level:** Your story must include scenes at least a decade apart. Minimum: 3250 words - Maximum: 4650 words. 
> 
> Thanks to Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter for beta'ing!

Harry knew that some of it had been him, but it couldn’t  _ entirely _ be him. There had been… Sure, they hadn’t been dating, but he was sure that there had been  _ something _ between them, right before everything got serious. He could have tried harder. Either of them could, but Harry felt like he was already trying pretty damn hard. The least that Draco could have done was fight for him.

So when he came to Hogwarts for his eighth year, to complete his education at Hermione’s beheadst, he had been more than mildly surprised to see Draco there in the Entrance Hall when he had walked in.

Harry hadn’t started anything then, but when they ended up getting the  _ same damned dorm, _ he felt like he was completely within his rights to finally make damn sure that Draco Malfoy owned up to the bullshit that he had put Harry through. “What the  _ fuck, _ Malfoy?!”

Alright, a bit more confrontational than he had intended, but he felt like he was completely in the right. Sixth year, it felt like they were on their way to friends, on their way to… something. Then it came out that Draco was following after his dad and was doing… Death Eater-y things. And Harry’s visions only confirmed such. Of course, Harry didn’t have much of a chance during the war to give him any shit over it, seeing as he had been on the run for the better part of the year. He watched Draco straighten up from where he had nearly  _ slouched. _ “And what exactly do you think you’re talking about?”

“I  _ think _ I’m talking about that bullshit you gave me about how you wished things could have been different with your family, then you went and tossed your lot in with them during the war. Were you just giving me a load? Pulling me round and taking the piss?” Harry was far more than pissed. He was infuriated, and now was the perfect time for him to let it all out.

“What I was doing was taking care of my own, and watching my own hide, much the same way you were, if I might remind you.”

This fucking arsehole. “Did you even  _ care? _ Did you just pretend, or did you try to string me along?”

“String you along? What exactly was I supposed to care about then, Potter?”

“ _ Us, _ you fucking prick!”

Draco’s eyes narrowed for a few moments before he rose an eyebrow and tried to put on some lazy smirk. “You really thought there was an us? You really are deluded, Potter. How about you keep to your side, I’ll keep to my side, and after this year, we part ways, hm?”

“Fine by me. Glad to know where you stand.”

✶✶✶

Standing as a newly-minted twenty-year-old, Harry smiled around at the Weasley family, an arm around Ginny. He… He and Ginny. It made sense, didn’t it? He was practically already a part of the family. They both loved Quidditch. They could both defend themselves, and where Harry had a quick tongue, Ginny was even faster with the draw of her wand. “Thanks, Molly,” he said with a smile. “You know, you don’t have to keep throwing a big party like this every year, right?”

Molly tut-tutted, pulling him down for a hug. “Now, we haven’t got to do anything. We do it just like we do for any of the others, alright? You stop with that selfless nonsense this second, young man.”

That coaxed a laugh out of Harry. “You know, any other mum wouldn’t ever say anything like that.”

“Well I’m not any other mum, now am I?” She pinched at his cheeks, embarrassingly enough before giving him a kiss on one of them. “I’m a special sort of mum.”

“That’s for sure,” Ginny laughed, tightening her arm around Harry’s waist, pulling him close to kiss at his opposite cheek. “Birthday boy already done being fawned over?”

“You know I’ve been finished with my fame and status for about as long as I’ve been a wizard, Ginny.”

“Yeah, I know. But you know how mum is. She’s always gonna fall over herself a bit for you, I think. She tries hard for you, you know.”

Harry sighed, giving her a nod. “Yeah. I know.” Of course he knew. That was part of the problem, though, was that Molly tried so hard for him. He really didn’t need all that much.

Managing to slip away, he found Ron and Hermione huddled together, away from the rest of the commotion where Molly had invited most of his school friends to celebrate the big two-oh. “Hey,” he said with a weak half-smile.

“Harry,” Hermione greeted, smiling and raising her drink as ‘hello.’ “I see you’ve managed to escape Molly’s mothering for the time being.”

“Yeah, it’s only a matter of time before she pulls me back in.” He loved Molly with all his heart, but some days she was a bit much. “How are the two of you doing?”

“Doing fine,” Ron said with a nod. “So, you and Gin, huh?”

Harry glanced back to Ginny. He supposed even in school he had sort of admired the fire she had in her, and thought that maybe the crush she had on him when he was younger was… cute? He guessed? “Yeah, guess so. Strange how things work out, huh?”

“Well, if you’re happy, Harry, we’re happy.”

“But you know I have to give you the standard older brother speech, since you’re dating my little sister.”

Holding a hand out to him, Harry smirked. “Trust me. Bill, the twins, and  _ Percy _ all already beat you to it. I’ve heard plenty from the four of them already.”

It seemed that took a bit of the wind out of Ron’s sails as he took in this information. “Oh.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at his foolishness before pulling Harry into a hug. “Happy birthday, Harry. And may you have many more.”

“Uh huh, yeah, hey, did you see the Daily Prophet, this morning?” He had to admit, the news had been weighing on his mind all day, and he needed to talk about it with  _ somebody _ . “The news is all over Malfoy.”

“I did see something about that,” Hermione said with a nod. “Him seeming to have more than a few partners?”

Harry nodded along. “Yeah. I guess they’re all going on about how he’s supposed to start courting someone anytime soon? What’s that even mean, him ‘courting’ someone?”

Ron shrugged. “It’s an old pureblood tradition. All about passing on the blood, and such. Don’t see why you care all that much.”

Wincing at the non-accusation Ron had subtly made, Harry drew back a bit. “Just thought it was, you know… interesting. He’s all pureblooded and proper and a ponce. Didn’t think he’d be the type to sleep around, you know what I mean?”

“I guess so.”

Hearing his name called, Harry turned. Guess he had more people to get birthday wishes from. “I’ll talk to you guys later. Thanks for trying not to make all of this a big deal.”

“Anything you need, Harry,” Hermione promised with a smile, glancing to Ginny. “Good luck.”

✶✶✶

Draco scoffed as he read through the featurette. It was absolutely ridiculous.  _ This _ was what constituted for  _ news _ these days? He couldn’t believe what drivel the press was willing to print these days. But then, he supposed anything for a story, especially when it was made so mind-numbingly simple to entice nearly any reader with a headline like ‘Potter Possibly Considers Proposal?’.

He had read through it nearly three times now, and it felt like his anger only rose with each word. He made it seem so  _ easy. _ So easy for him to move past Draco as though he really didn’t lose anything when Draco had turned him away. He made it seem so easy, and in every picture, there were no telltale signs of nerves, or hiding tension that unravelled itself when the two of them were in private. It ate away at Draco completely. He hated it.

The paper went on and on about how not only was Potter so faithful, he was so sweet, coming to Ginevra Weasley’s every Quidditch game, no matter the weather or the location. The young woman had been drafted on no more than two years ago by the Holyhead Harpies, and to Draco’s utter dismay, they were ever more successful for it. She led them to victory in many a match, and when facing off against the Quiberon Quafflepunchers… Well, to say the least, they had absolutely  _ pulverized _ his favorite French team.

Potter didn’t seem to have much of a job of his own, but then Draco supposed when your partner was a Quidditch player rising in rank by the day and you were the only son of a fairly prominent family, one didn’t need to work for a living, did they?

Mind, neither did Draco. But he still found it to be a great use of his time, apprenticing at a Potions shop in Diagon Alley. He hoped to gain his certificate within the year. Then perhaps open his own shop, or even an apothecary. Something to keep himself busy, and perhaps it may have also been a way for him to give back.

It… was also something to focus on. Rotating men through his bed on a nearly weekly basis was so tiring, but none of them seemed to truly be to his tastes. He just… was so tired. He needed something to hold his attention, because romance at that time certainly wasn’t it. Although apparently Potter was having nowhere near the same troubles. He didn’t wake to a cold pillow in the mornings. And if he awoke in the night with terrors still gripping at the edges of his mind, he had a warm shoulder to cry upon.

Draco was… against his better judgment, happy for him. He seemed to have moved on completely, and the two of them could get on with their lives properly. He just hoped he could get a move on, and soon.

✶✶✶

All Harry could really do was stare at her in stunned shock. It felt like there were a million thoughts running through his mind while, at the same time, his mind was totally blank. He almost couldn’t  _ comprehend _ what she was telling him, like maybe he was dreaming. But this wasn’t a dream. He was awake, and Ginny was right there, in front of him- “What do you mean you want to break up with me?”

“I mean what I’ve said, Harry. I love you, but… I think I love you more like a brother. Hermione always talks about how she and Ron have such a spark, and passion, and… With us, it feels like we’re just going through the motions. This has been just  _ way too easy, _ ” Ginny bemoaned, tilting her head back. “You’re a great guy, but… Well, you’re a bit stiff.”

Harry’s eyes widened as he stared at her. “ _ Stiff? _ What do you mean I’m stiff? Is this about that stuff you were saying about how we don’t go on dates, or something?”

Ginny sighed, her eyes flicking to the ceiling. “Merlin, Harry, this is about so much more than taking me on a date once in a while! I’m twenty-three years old. I want to feel the fireworks everyone else always goes on about.”

“So… So it’s  _ bad _ that I- That  _ us, _ that  _ we _ have been… easy?”

“You’re really cute,” she said, rubbing at his arm. “But you know me. I can’t keep going just on ‘easy.’ I need me a challenge. And you… I know you don’t mean it, but sometimes you make it feel like I was your fallback. Like you wanted something better and I was all you got.”

He really didn’t get it. Trying to pull her into a hug, Ginny only shook her head, stepping back. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“What was I  _ supposed _ to say, Harry? ‘Why do you make it feel like I was a participation ribbon, or consolation prize?’ What kind of person would I be?”

“Have you been seeing someone else?”

Ginny scoffed at him, crossing her arms. “Now you’re being ridiculous.”

“ _ Have you been seeing someone else? _ ”

“Bloody Merlin and Crowley, Harry,  _ no, _ I  _ haven’t _ been seeing someone else, are you happy?! I wouldn’t do that to you, and I’m fairly fucking offended you think I would do that!”

Shit.  _ Shit, _ now Harry really felt like shit. He had just accused Ginny of  _ cheating _ on him. What was he  _ thinking? _ “Shit. Fuck, Gin, I’m sorry, I know you- It’s just this is suddenly a lot-”

“Is it? I thought you would have felt the same way.” She shuffled her shoes. “I really am sorry that this caught you so off guard, Harry, I thought that you knew, this whole time.”

“No. Not at all.”

“I still love you, you know. I’m just not…”

Harry nodded, averting his gaze. “Not in love.”

“Yeah.” He heard Ginny puff out a breath. “Listen, Luna’s been looking for a roommate. I’ll have my stuff moved out by the end of the week, alright? I don’t want this to end badly. Especially cause my family will probably kill you for it.”

Finally, Harry managed a laugh. “Yeah, they would, wouldn’t they? Thanks, I guess… For being so…”

“Patient and understand and wonderful?”

“Yeah. All of that. Really, Gin. Thanks.”

Ginny finally took a step closer and gave him a hug. “Just make sure you’re sure about the next one, alright?”

“Yeah. I will.” Much against his will, his eyes darted to the Quibbler issue that had been on the kitchen table before Ginny broke her news.

There wasn’t much, but there was a small bit about Malfoy. Supposedly, he’d stopped seeing people entirely. Sworn himself off. Wasn’t entertaining people by the dozens anymore, but also didn’t seem to be entertaining, period. Harry of course had to admit that he was a bit pleased by the news. But his being pleased only made him upset that such news still had an effect on him, even now. It had been nearly  _ seven years _ since there had been anything between them. There was no reason for him to care anymore.

Ginny rubbed at his arm before pulling away with a half-smile. “I’m gonna… start packing.”

“Alright,” Harry said, giving her a nod. “D’you need any help, or-?”

“Thanks, but this is more something I’ve got to do on my own. You know?”

“Yeah. I get it.” He wished it were that easy.

✶✶✶

Blaise sighed, much to Draco’s chagrin. “I’m telling you, Draco. He definitely dumped the Weaslette a couple years ago, and since then, it seems he’s been celibate. Or, at the very least, he hasn’t had much more than a few one-night-stands, here and there. You’ve really got to stop worrying. Every time I come over, it’s ‘Blaise, did you hear he’s single?’ ‘Blaise, what do you think he’s up to?’ ‘Blaise, do you reckon that Harry wants to shag?’”

Feeling his face burn at the last hypothetical question, Draco turned to give him a scathing scowl. “I don’t care for shagging him. You should know that, better than anyone, Blaise.”

“Your lips say one thing, yet your incessant inquiries and heart-eyes you give each and every picture say another, Draco love.” Blaise walked over to where Draco sat on the couch, and began to massage his shoulders. “You know, you’ve got a lot of tension. I could help you with that, you know…” When Draco whipped towards him to glare daggers at him, Blaise rose his hands as way of defense. “Fine. Fine. My offer will continue to stand.”

Draco huffed, adjusting and leaning back into his couch. “What is he doing in South America, anyhow? Chile, you said?”

“Chile was last week. Right now, he’s in Argentina.” Blaise sat down beside him on the couch, giving a shrug. “Might be going on some sort of soul-searching journey. Why do you have a care, so much?”

Draco chose not to dignify his terrible question with a response. “Soul-searching journey. Why in South America? Strange. What is it you said he was doing? ‘Packbacking’?”

“Backpacking,” Blaise corrected. “I told you all of this. He’s got a knapsack of some sort and he’s going through a bunch of countries, living basically out of that bag. Lots of hiking, lots of sightseeing. Typically in places like forests, where there aren’t many other people.”

Backpacking. That was a concept. After seventh year, he wasn’t sure he could have ever seen him as the type, but he supposed everyone got off on something. “Backpacking in South America. How long has he been on this particular little foray?”

“This specific one? Two weeks, now. He’s been doing this for the last year or so, though. He’s got to tire himself out eventually, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, he has.” Hopefully he would. “Thank you for the information, Blaise. Even if you do make yourself particularly annoying in your delivery.”

Blaise smiled at him. “Anything for you, Draco love.”

Pain in his arse.

✶✶✶

Hearing the bell above him ring, Harry cleared his throat. “Er, hello?” He wasn’t really sure what he was doing. It had been ten years since the two of them had seen each other in person. And sure Harry had consistently kept up on Draco and whatever it was that he was up to, but that didn’t mean that the other had done the same. In fact, it was likely that Draco had done everything in his power to put Harry in his past entirely.

“Yes, just one moment, and I’ll… Oh.” Harry stared at him, and Draco stared back. It had been hard to tell in the pictures, but… He was older. More… mature, maybe? There was something different about him, but Harry wasn’t sure he could put his finger on it if pressed. “Well,” Draco finally said. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Harry chuckled a bit with a nod. “Yeah, I guess so.” He looked around the store front. “A potions shop.” He’d of course known the moment the Daily Prophet published an article about the new shop. He had just been trying to find a fine time to pop in for a small visit. “Guess that apprenticeship did you some good.”

“You knew about that?” Fuck. Harry felt himself color as he looked to Draco. He scratched at the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

“Er, yeah… I guess I kept a couple tabs on you, after we left school. One habit I never could break, I guess.” Draco started to  _ laugh, _ to Harry’s surprise. It honestly made him a bit worried. The Draco he knew a decade ago wouldn’t have laughed. He would have been so smug, or even worse, he would have acted all sorts of offended over the thought that Harry had to keep him in his periphery. “Uh… You alright?”

Draco smiled at him. “Sorry, I just think it’s all… It’s  _ terribly _ hilarious.”

Maybe someone hit him with some kind of charm. Or hex. It was all equally likely. “Hilarious? Really?”

“Yes, really.” Draco leaned against the counter, going so far as to rest his elbows on it. “How was Ecuador, then? You stayed there longer than you did Peru, or Argentina, at least.”

Harry felt like his brain was slightly imploding as he realized that Draco had… Draco had kept an eye on him? “Wait a minute, I was in South America. How did you know that? Ron and Hermione said the paper was filled with ‘Potter’s periodic absences.’ No one but them knew where I was.”

Draco just kept smiling. But it wasn’t the same as his smiles used to be, at least. Harry supposed that was good. “I sent out my own feelers. Blaise would occasionally pop himself over. He thought he needed his own vacation. You know how that is.”

And amazingly, he did. Finally, Harry understood why Draco had been laughing. He grinned, shaking his head. “We’ve both been making ourselves look pretty stupid, haven’t we?”

“It seems that we have.” They’d both, even after  _ years, _ been so obsessed with what one another was doing that they made sure they knew exactly where the other was, when, and who they were with. Harry couldn’t decide if it was sad, funny, or somewhere in between.

“How about this, then?” Harry took a step closer. “How about we try ‘us?’”

He watched as Draco rose an eyebrow at him. “Us, hm?” He pretended really hard to think about it. “Us… I suppose it does have a sort of ring, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Harry said with a nod. “So? What do you think?”

Draco smiled, holding his hand out to Harry. “I think it sounds like a fabulous idea.”

And Harry did what he maybe should have done almost twenty years ago.

He shook Draco’s hand.

✶✶✶

“Well, Draco,” Ginny said as she greeted them at Harry’s thirtieth birthday bash. “Can’t say I’m completely surprised to see you here. Glad that Harry finally found someone.”

“I suppose that’s a point the two of us can agree on. Though I do have to thank you.” Draco smirked at her. “You kept him tied down long enough I still had a chance.”

“Oh, was that it, then?” He may have been more mature, but, well… He was still Draco, Harry supposed. “It’s about time the two of you got on with it. Harry was pretty pathetic for a couple years there, you know.”

“Oh was he?” Draco smirked at him. “Please, do tell more.”

“Oh, yeah,” Harry scoffed. “But trust me, based on everything Blaise told me, it was nowhere  _ near _ as bad as  _ you were, _ when I was single. Blaise said you were practically leaping at whatever scraps of information he was able to get to you.”

Now Draco was frowning at him, swatting at him. “Nobody asked you, did they?”

“Oh, Ginny’s asking,” Ginny said with a grin. She’d do anything to rile Draco up, though. It was kind of funny. “Tell me all about how pitiful he was when he was trying to look after you, Harry.”

“ _ Harry _ has other guests to greet,” Draco pointed out. And unfortunately, he was right.

“We’ll talk later, Gin.”

Letting himself get pulled along, Harry hugged Ron and Hermione immediately. “Hey, guys.”

“Harry. Draco. Good to see the both of you.”

“You keeping Malfoy in his place?”

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron. He never would change, he supposed. “ _ Ron. _ ”

“Kidding, kidding. Mostly.” Ron shook Draco’s hand. “Glad the two of you have lasted this long without killing each other, mate.”

With a laugh, Draco nodded. “Yes, I see what you mean. He is incredibly hard to handle.”

“You’ve never been one for easy though, have you?”

“Now, where’s the fun in any of that?”

At least Ron and Draco had gotten past their childhood rivalry. That one had taken some more time, but after Ron finally realized that Draco’s deadpan and prickly exterior was him trying to be humorous half the time, the two of them caught on like nothing else. Surprised Hermione, too, but pleased her, nonetheless.

Harry was just glad that the two of them seemed almost  _ fond _ of each other, nowadays. It would have made their relationship a lot more difficult if his best friend couldn’t get along with his boyfriend, after all. And having the both of them in his life, together, just made it infinitely better. “Hey, this day is about me, you know.” Well, mostly.

“Of course, love,” Draco cooed, obviously trying to get under Ron’s skin. Ron was a bit of a hypocrite. It took him a  _ long _ time to move past that Harry was intent on seeing Draco.

“We won’t keep you,” Hermione reassured, pulling Ron by the arm. “Happy birthday, Harry.”

“Thanks, Mione!”

“And I have a… special present for you later,” Draco whispered into his ear. Oh yeah. Things were pretty damn fantastic, these days.


End file.
